Press Conference by the Chief Cabinet Secretary

JAPANESE

Opening Statement by Chief Cabinet Secretary Edano

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: I have one item to report, regarding the lifting of restrictions on shipment. Today the Government issued instructions to the governor of Fukushima Prefecture to lift the shipment restrictions on a number of products produced in certain areas of the prefecture. These products are non-bulbous leafy vegetables, including spinach; bulbous leafy vegetables, including cabbage; and flower-bud type vegetables of the Brassicaceae family, including broccoli. The details concerning which municipalities the lifting of restrictions apply to differ according to the four product categories I have just mentioned. For further details please direct your questions to the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) and the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF).

Q&As

REPORTER: I believe that Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) has provided a written response to the request made by the Government yesterday. Can you tell us your thoughts on this written response?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: I think that the response has set out the starting line for how TEPCO will establish a structure for assisting the people affected by the accident, including the payment of compensation.

REPORTER: I believe that a meeting of related ministers will be held later today. Does this mean that with the written response provided by TEPCO the schedule for coming to a decision on compensation and other matters has entered a new phase?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: Yes, I believe that this response has fulfilled one of the conditions to take the process forward.

REPORTER: What is the schedule for coming to a decision looking like at the moment?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: As this is a very important matter it will require various wide-ranging considerations and at the current point we are working to come to a decision as early as possible.

REPORTER: Yesterday in his press conference the Prime Minister stated that the national Basic Energy Plan would be revised with a greater focus on renewable energies, including solar, wind and biomass. To what degree is the government seeking to increase the share of renewable energies in the energy mix?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: The matter to which the Prime Minister was referring is one on which considerations have only just begun.

REPORTER: This is another question regarding the Basic Energy Plan. In his press conference yesterday the Prime Minister announced that the Government would move to increase the share of renewable energy, aiming to achieve a share of 20% of the total energy mix by 2030. The Prime Minister did not mention nuclear power stations specifically, referring only to nuclear safety. From the perspective of nuclear safety, is it likely that after due consideration has been given and results issued, the target for the share of nuclear power in the energy mix will still stand at 50% as originally planned?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: The Prime Minister has stated that efforts will be made to increase the share of renewable energy and enhance the safety of nuclear power. He has also said that the current Basic Plan will be scrapped and fresh considerations initiated. These are the three points that will be the focus of efforts.

REPORTER: I believe that the current Basic Energy Plan also contains reference to enhancing safety. The Government's current stance is that with the exception of Hamaoka Nuclear Power Station all other power stations are considered to be safe. I think that it would be hard to enter into a discussion based on such reasoning, saying for example that 50 power stations are dangerous but 40 are safe. From what perspective will the Government be considering the proportion of nuclear energy?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: This is an issue that we will be considering from now.

REPORTER: I have a question relating to the investigation into the accident at the nuclear power station. Recently, Special Advisor to the Prime Minister Goshi Hosono, who is currently responsible for issues relating to the nuclear power station, stated that "two months have passed and it is time to start thinking about implementing an investigation." In addition, there have been criticisms from members of the opposition parties in the Diet concerning the actions taken by the Prime Minister in response to the accident and it has been pointed out that the crisis response actions of the Prime Minister should also be part of any investigation. Do you share the same recognition?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: I believe that every aspect of the accident must be investigated, including the actions of the Government and TEPCO as a whole, including not only of the Prime Minister, but also of myself and Special Advisor Hosono. The investigation will need to cover all processes implemented up to the accident and the processes that were initiated following the accident. The investigation should be implemented by a third-party body and we are currently making preparations to launch a committee that will implement an investigation.

REPORTER: On a related note, will the investigation include the processes leading up to the accident that date back to those implemented by the previous Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) administration?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: As a matter of course all processes will be subject to investigation. I believe a significant part of the investigation will concern why the accident occurred and why it could not have been prevented. This will also cover matters relating to regulatory systems, and all such items will be subject to investigation. Also, at the same time, although we have made every effort to ensure that response measures following the accident were as thorough as possible, the Government will be implementing a third-party investigation to assess objectively whether the response was sufficiently thorough.

REPORTER: If it is the case that the actions of the Prime Minister and your own actions will be subject to investigation, in that case would it be likely that the minutes of meetings held at the Prime Minister's office would be submitted to the investigative committee?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: I believe that some meeting minutes have been recorded for the meetings of the Nuclear Emergency Response Headquarters, for example, but as the Government was engaged in crisis management and crisis response, there were hardly any situations in which it was possible to take meeting minutes. I believe therefore that people would be requested to give testimony on the basis of their own personal recollections.

REPORTER: In what form will the results of the investigation be reported?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: The plan is to fully disclose not only the results but also the details of the various processes.

REPORTER: In an ad hoc manner?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: Yes.

REPORTER: This is not a recent piece of news, but a number of the executives at TEPCO have indicated their intention to resign to take responsibility for the recent accident. The Government has also been involved in the response to the accident at the nuclear power station together with TEPCO, so does the Prime Minister intend to resign to take responsibility?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: Yesterday the Prime Minister stated that the Government also holds some responsibility for the accident at the nuclear power station, by which I believe he meant that the Government bears responsibility in a broad sense as it has been implementing the nation's nuclear energy policy to date.

REPORTER: I have a question regarding the timing of the next meetings of the subcommittees on burden reduction and revitalization of the Okinawa Policy Council. Are they next scheduled for May 23 and 24 respectively?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: Arrangements are being made to hold these subcommittee meetings at the end of May and we must engage in consultations with Okinawa Prefecture on this issue. We have requested Okinawa Prefecture to prepare for these meetings at the end of May, but as yet I have not received any report on whether the schedule has been confirmed.